Rumors and reports have been swirling for a while that Nintendo would be releasing new renditions of the Nintendo Switch at some point in the future, and those rumors came to a head last week when Chinese retailer HonSon leaked potential images of the Switch Mini, or what is rumored to be the next Switch console. As a sign of added credibility, Nintendo acknowledged and responded to the reports at a recent shareholder event.

At the 79th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, Nintendo responded to rumors of the Switch Mini, which were energized by HonSon's product listings. "We acknowledge that there have been reports," said a representative from Nintendo. They added that responding "to rumours and speculations would end up stealing surprises from our customers and also be unprofitable to all of our shareholders, so we have no answer to that. As a general theory, we are always performing development of new hardware.”

While the statement at the 79th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders is by no means an official announcement of any new hardware, it does appear to be a nod in that direction. Nintendo's response at the meeting indicates some credibility to reports of the Switch Mini, if not necessarily the images from HonSon. It is quite likely that Nintendo would have clarified a lack of new Switch models if that were the case, given Nintendo's previous rumor dismissals at past Annual General Meeting of Shareholders events. Since that was not the case, the likelihood of a Switch Mini is just the same as it was before if not slightly increased.

At any rate, a new Switch has yet to be announced. While analysts say the Switch Mini is coming in 2019, it is halfway through 2019 and there has been no official word of a new Switch. Hardware and software have been announced on lesser notice before in the gaming industry, but something like a new console model appears to be an announcement to make sooner rather than later. With the exception of the Switch in recent years, consoles have typically been released during the holiday season to capitalize on consumer demand. Given the bevy of reports, it would be of little surprise if there were an announcement any time between now and early fall.

There is no known release for a new Nintendo Switch.

Source(s): GamingBolt, Japanese Nintendo